Marine Big 5 Daily Blog 02 May
Written by May 2 2024
Whale Watching near Cape Town, South Africa Welcome to Gansbaai, home of the Marine Big 5.
Trip Summary 02 May 2024:
Leaving Kleinbaai Harbour behind us, we headed towards the natural estuary. Starting our lookout for any marine wildlife in the area we ended up in the Shallows. Stopping by Marine Dynamics Shark cage diving vessel Slashfin we got a glimpse of a female Bronze whaler shark! After spending some time with the other vessel we decided to continue our trip and made our way through the reef system into deeper waters. After patiently waiting and keeping our eyes open we spotted a Humpback whale in the distance! We got a few nice looks at the whale before we let it be and headed towards the island. At Geyser Rock, the Cape fur seals were relaxing on the island watching our boat pass by whereas numerous others were playing in the cool waters of Shark Alley. Heading around the corner to Dyer Island we got to see one of the endangered African Penguins sitting on the boulders close to the beach. Leaving the island behind us we once again headed into deeper waters towards Danger Point were we got to see a raft of the Penguins and got rewarded with a Bryde’s whale sighting. The whale stuck around for quite some time which enabled us some great views!
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What species did we see today?
African Penguin African Penguin
As one of only 17 penguin species left in the world (and the only one on the african continent), the african penguin often breed in offshore colonies, such as Dyer Island.
Cape fur seal Cape fur seal
With a local population of 60,000, it's no wonder our guests capture so many photographs of these wonderfully playful marine mammals.
Humpback Whale Humpback Whale
One of the best-known whale species, they are renowned for their acrobatic behaviour and complex melodious song as well as extremely long flippers and are a special favourite of Dyer Island Cruises guests and crew alike.
Brydes Whale Brydes Whale
The mysterious Bryde's whales visit the Dyer Island area throughout the year, with most sightings occurring during summer into winter.
Bronze Whaler Shark Bronze Whaler Shark
The Bronze whaler (also known as Copper sharks) here in Kleinbaai are very curious and interactive. These sharks eat mostly fish, with sardines being one of their favourites.
